The first thing Don noticed when he woke up was that he'd slept. He'd actually slept, not just fallen into bed and closed his eyes, or sat there worrying until the morning came. No, he'd really fallen asleep, and was waking up feeling more or less rested for the first time in more than a week.
The second thing he noticed was that his head was lying on Marvelous' chest. He didn't need to open his eyes to confirm this – he could tell by the smell, the feel, the steady rise and fall as his captain breathed. As unbelievable as it was, it certainly explained how he'd been able to sleep.
He continued laying there for several more minutes, basking in the feel of Marvelous beneath him as he tried to gather his wits together. Slowly the memories returned to him, of Marvelous' acceptance, his reassurance, the night they spent together before Don had finally been able to drift off from exhaustion. He had a brief moment of panic in wondering what time of day it was, and then he remembered that he had the day off and he let himself relax.
Apparently that moment had been enough, though, and he felt Marvelous' breath catch as he began to wake. Don could feel him swim to consciousness enough to lift his head and see him there. "Morning, Doc."
His voice was raspy from sleep, but it was enough to make Don smile. He lifted his head and looked up to properly return the greeting. "Morning, Marvelous."
He let his head fall back onto the smooth skin, his smile lingering as he watched Marvelous settle into wakefulness. There was a brief moment of confusion that flashed across his captain's face, but then it vanished and Marvelous gave him a small smile. "Did you sleep well?"
Don nodded, not quite able to find the right words to express how well he had managed to sleep. Possibly, he wasn't able to find words at all. He just snuggled in closer and watched as Marvelous brought one hand up to lazily ruffle at his hair. The clips had fallen out a long time before, and after sleeping his hair was almost back up to its old curly mess.
It was like everything was back to the way it was supposed to be, and Don could almost ignore everything that had gone so wrong in the last week.
It couldn't last forever, though. Eventually Marvelous' brow furrowed and he squinted past Don, then looked at him with worried eyes. "Isn't it late?" he asked, although with more curiosity than concern. "Do you need to get going?"
Don shook his head against Marvelous' chest. "I've got the day off today," he said, and began to gear up for a full explanation of how they were going to be changing ships today, and then their new ship was about to leave orbit. But he was cut off as the entire ship rocked violently, sending the two of them tumbling sideways across the floor. Marvelous' chains caught him after a foot or two, but Don rolled all the way into the far wall, his head cracking off the surface just enough to make him see stars for several seconds.
The impact was accompanied by a terrible thundering on the other side of the ship, and when Don's vision cleared he looked up to see his captain pulling against his chains towards the door, eager for a fight. "Are we under attack?" Marvelous asked, a smile peeking at the corner of his mouth.
Don shook his head, more out of confusion than actually knowing the answer. "Who would attack us?" he asked, knowing the answer before he finished. But it didn't make sense, for Basco to launch any sort of offensive, especially on his ship. Even if the former privateer had found out it had been Don who'd made the order, he had nothing to gain by flying into the middle of the Zangyack fleet and attacking. The Free Joker was a formidable ship, sure, but it wasn't invincible.
More importantly, Don was worried about Marvelous. It was obvious his captain was ready to fight, and if they were under attack, he'd want Marvelous free and fighting by his side. But at the same time Don wanted him safe. Marvelous had been out of action for several days, and even his ridiculous strength had to have weakened considerably during that time. Don could easily see him biting off far more than he could chew, and he couldn't guarantee he'd be there in time to save him.
He grimaced, but he knew what he had to do. He'd keep Marvelous in place until there was no other recourse, and he'd figure out what to do then. After all, this was a ship straight out of the Emperor's fleet – it was ready and prepared to defend against any and all invaders. And Don wasn't going to leave his room to find out what was going on. Not on his day off.
Don scrambled to his feet and placed himself firmly between Marvelous and the door. There was always the possibility that it had simply been a navigational error throwing them off course. Or maybe a contained explosion from somewhere near the front of the ship. He stood there, thinking through all the possible things that could have sent them flying like that, and how he could properly protect Marvelous in each situation.
He realized with sudden dread that staying entirely on a blind defensive was an increasingly bad idea, and he stalked forward to open the door and demand answers from the Goumin stationed outside. Don only had enough time to see one of the Goumin slumped against the wall before something struck him in the head, knocking him back into the room.
Combat reflexes took over and he rolled with the punch, coming up in a defensive stance as he surveyed his attacker. But his fists dropped as he and Marvelous noticed at the same time the invader's blue coat and long, dark hair.
"Joe!"
When Gai had appeared in the brig, Joe had been overcome with relief that their cabin boy hadn't actually died in the attack after all. The moment Gai opened his cell door, however, Joe had bolted for the hallway as fast as his legs could take him. He'd only barely managed to yell back what he was doing before he was around the corner and following the wall, remembering the ship's layout and finding his way to the section that would commonly house the onboard commanders.
When he saw one door being guarded by two very skittish-looking Goumin, he knew he'd found the right place. They went down easily, being nervous and unaccustomed to encountering a pissed-off pirate, and Joe had been ready to pry the door apart when it slid open on its own accord. It caught him off-guard, but not so much that he wasn't able to ready his fist and smash it into the blond curls that waited on the other side.
He watched as Doc rolled backwards, popping up into a defensive stance and facing him for only a moment before his face went slack with recognition. "Joe!" he cried, and his voice was echoed by somebody sitting behind him. When Joe looked around to see who else was there, he saw Marvelous, bound and bandaged with a look of wondrous shock plastered across his face.
Then he saw the collar locked around his neck, and Joe saw red.
"You bastard," he ground out, launching another punch at Doc's head. This time the blond dodged, with a speed Joe had never seen him move at before. He didn't let that stop him, though, and Joe kept swinging as he let the words tumble from his mouth. "You betrayed us. You captured us. I can handle that. But how dare you do that to him!"
His next punch connected and he felt Doc roll with it, taking minimal damage and spinning around to face Joe with his hands up and spread wide. "I didn't have a choice!" the blond yelled back. For a moment Joe hesitated, his gut asking him why he was punching his teammate instead of rescuing him. Then he remembered the Zangyack uniform, despite the blond curls, and his rage returned. "It was the only way to save him. To save all of you!"
There was another voice, yelling in the background, but Joe was too focused on Doc to pay any attention elsewhere. Punching wasn't doing him any good, and he'd run off before retrieving his Mobirates from the jail vault, so he didn't even have access to his swords. What he did have, however, was brute strength that Doc didn't. He lowered his head and charged into Doc, catching him around the middle and slamming him hard into the wall. He felt the blond's chest deflate, and he shoved his shoulder against Doc's ribcage to bring the point home. "You call that saving?" Joe growled, keeping the pressure steady on Doc's torso as he looked up at his face. "Chained up and collared like a faithful dog?"
Something lit up in Doc's eyes then, flashing bright green and angry at Joe's words. "He's alive, isn't he?" he shouted, then Joe felt the wind rush from his own lungs as Doc brought a knee up into his chest. He fell away from the wall, leaving Doc free as he recovered. "You're all alive! There wasn't any other way."
"Of course there was another way," Joe insisted as he stood up straight again. "Even if it was all fighting and dying together, it would still be better than this!" He threw his hand out to gesture at Marvelous behind him. "Better than what you've done to him." He balled that hand into a fist and lunged forward again, aiming for Doc's pleading eyes.
Doc caught the punch, then twisted around to force Joe's momentum back again, sending Joe flying into the wall and rattling Marvelous' chains. Joe could feel his muscles aching, protesting from their lack of use, and he wondered when Doc had become so strong. For a moment he felt the creeping fear that he actually might not be able to win this fight, but he shook it of and climbed back to his feet. He had to keep fighting. He had to free his captain.
Then a hand clutched at his wrist, holding it tightly, and he looked back in surprise. Marvelous was there, still chained, but giving him the commanding look that the captain was supposed to have on his face. He reacted immediately, relaxing his stance and waiting for the command that he was sure would follow.
"Hold on," Marvelous said, his voice urgent but even. He turned his look on Doc as well, and Joe noticed with no small amount of surprise that the blond nodded and stayed his ground. Joe was about to turn back and demand an explanation when Marvelous continued. "What's going on, Joe? How are you here?"
Joe grimaced, annoyed that the simplicity of the situation had been suddenly muddled with questions and logic. "Gai freed us," he said slowly, meeting Marvelous' gaze for a moment before turning away. "Apparently he teamed up with Basco to get us out of here." He kicked himself immediately for mentioning Basco's name, knowing how much Marvelous hated to be reminded of his past with the monstrous privateer.
Marvelous did frown, his hand tightening around Joe's wrist until he almost lost feeling in his fingers. "With Basco?" Marvelous' eyes darted up to Doc, obviously angry, and Joe couldn't help but feel like he was missing out on an important piece of the puzzle. "Where are they now?"
"Finding our Mobirates, and the keys. Once we've got everything, we're getting out of here." Joe gave Marvelous a pointed look, making it as obvious as possible that their captain was considered one of the most important things to retrieve. He hadn't quite gotten as far as to ask why Marvelous was bothering to keep him from attacking Doc, but he wasn't sure he was ready for that conversation in the first place.
"Then you're here to rescue me," Marvelous pointed out, and Joe acknowledge the fact with a short nod. His eyes darted to Doc, curious to see if their former engineer had anything to say about the matter. But the blond was quiet, his mouth a thin line as he watched the conversation unfold. When Joe met his eyes he looked away, and Joe felt a small surge of pride at the little victory there.
"...understood," Doc said quietly, so quietly that Joe almost didn't hear him. But he did, and he watched as Doc walked quickly over to a set of drawers and pulled out a complicated key. He held it in his hand for a moment, as if contemplating its existence, then caught Joe's eye and tossed it in his direction. Joe reached up to catch it, stunned at how easily Doc had just given up his most prized possession. But he wasn't going to let that delay him for long, and he immediately went to work freeing Marvelous from his chains and collar.
They were on their feet within seconds, Marvelous stretching his legs and bouncing from heel to heel as he worked at regaining his strength. When he finally nodded at Joe, the first mate turned and headed towards the door, deliberately blowing by Doc on his way.
"Wait," Marvelous said, and the word twisted the meager contents of Joe's stomach. "Doc. We should..."
Joe set his jaw and whirled around to look his captain in the eye. "We should what?" he demanded, not even looking in Doc's direction. "Don't you dare say we should take the traitor with us. Not after how he betrayed us. Not after how he betrayed you."
He watched as Marvelous glanced over to Doc, his face an odd mixture of concern and disappointment. Joe could tell that he was having trouble finding words, trying to figure out what to say that would properly convey what he was thinking.
Joe would have none of it.
"Let's go," he said urgently, turning around to open the door back to the hallway. It slid open and he readied himself to step over the Goumin bodies he'd left there, only to find the world spinning around and his windpipe temporarily blocked off. He could see the shock on Doc and Marvelous' faces as an arm tightened around his neck, unaffected by his hands as they scrabbled for freedom.
"Yo, Marvey-chan," came a familiar sing-song voice, and as Joe caught a glimpse of white feathers he felt his blood turn to ice. "Why don't we make a trade?"
Things had been changing so quickly, Marvelous wasn't sure he could keep up. When Joe wanted to walk out without Don, he'd been so lost as to an answer that he was sure his brain was going to melt.
But now, seeing his first love holding his first mate by the throat, he wasn't even sure what he was feeling. He just knew he had to fix things, and fast.
"Basco," he managed to growl, finding his old familiar scowl as it spread across his face. "You bastard. Of course you wouldn't just help us out of the goodness of your supposed heart."
Basco gave him his mocking smile, perfect and quaint except for the sword that was now hovering above Joe's chest. "Oh, goodness is relative, Marvey-chan," the former privateer responded. "I think it was pretty good of me to help Silver out enough to get here in the first place. All I want now is to collect on my payment."
Marvelous sneered, forgetting entirely that he was mostly naked and still bandaged from his time in Don's room. "What do you want from me? I don't even have my Mobirates." He could see Don twitching anxiously out of the corner of his eye, and he wondered if the blond had any sort of plan in mind. Marvelous knew he certainly didn't. "What can I trade you that you can't already take for yourself?"
The smile on Basco's face faltered for a moment, and Marvelous could see his arm tighten around Joe's neck. "The keys, Marvey-chan," he said as though he were talking to a child. "All of them. They weren't in the vault, so therefore, you must know where they are." The sword drifted closer to Joe's chest, the tip drawing tears into the collar of his shirt. "Give them to me and I'll let your pretty little first mate live."
"The keys?" Marvelous hadn't thought about the Ranger Keys in days, let alone wondered where they were. He'd assumed they'd been confiscated with the rest of their weaponry when they'd been captured. If they weren't in the ship's vault, then he hadn't a clue where they could be. "Like I'd know! Let him go, Basco."
Basco narrowed his eyes as his smile finally faded away. "Give me the keys and he lives," he said, his voice low and warning. "And if you really never want to see me again, give me the galleon as well."
Marvelous balled his hands up into fists, his fingernails biting angrily into the flesh of his palms. He couldn't possibly give in to Basco's requests, even if he weren't half-naked and trying to escape a Zangyack ship. His mind went through every sort of plan he could think of and was coming up blank when Don took several steps forward, putting himself between Marvelous and Basco.
"They're not here," Don said slowly, raising his hands in a show of good will. "They weren't found on board the galleon when we captured it, either. We only have their Mobirates and one key apiece." The words took Marvelous off guard, and he couldn't help but wonder if Don could possibly be telling the truth.
"Like I'm about to believe that, coming from you," Basco sneered, turning his sword away from Joe and pointing it straight at Don. "Elite Forces scum. You ordered me dead. Why?"
Marvelous could no longer see the expression on Don's face, but he could see that the blond was slowly, minutely, inching his way closer to Basco and the outstretched sword. "Revenge," Don said with a small shrug. "You hurt Marvelous. I wasn't going to let that stand."
Basco's head twitched to the side slightly, and his scowl gradually turned into a look of utter surprise. "You two," he said, shock turning to disgust in his voice. "The two of you are...in love?"
Joe gasped, and although Marvelous couldn't tell if it was from lack of air or actual surprise, he felt the need to turn his eyes away nonetheless. He'd been trying to convince himself for the last week that his feelings for Don were gone, that he was able to move past the betrayal and focus on what was really important. But just as the memory of Basco's betrayal still hurt, so did the idea that his feelings for Don might have disappeared. Marvelous chewed on his lower lip, completely at a loss for words.
"Let Joe go," came Don's voice, steady and even, and Marvelous brought his eyes back up to see that Don had taken another full step forward. The two were now separated only by the length of Basco's arm and the sword, with the point just inches away from Don's chest. "Then we can talk about the keys."
The sneer on Basco's face turned desperate. "I don't think so," he said, then glanced past Don to catch Marvelous' eye. "Say goodbye to Blue, Marvey-chan."
Basco's arm began to pull back, correcting its angle for thrusting the sword into Joe's chest. Marvelous stared, blocked by fear as he watched everything unfold, not even sure if he could force his weary joints to move forward and try to save Joe in the first place. His brain screamed at him to dive forward, even if it meant taking the blow himself to save his first mate. But not only was he too far away, Don was between them, and Marvelous knew without trying that he wouldn't be able to close the gap in time.
Then Don moved, as quickly as he did in battle the other night, and suddenly the blond was in between the sword and Joe. Don held Basco's arm at bay long enough to knock Joe sprawling to the floor, then twisted the arm around to go plunging down at Basco's stomach. It missed, however, as Basco realized what was happening and turned the sword to slice into Don's abdomen instead.
The Zangyack uniform, while sleek with its minimal armor coverage, wasn't enough to stop the blade. Marvelous watched as a look of resignation spread across Don's face, and he grabbed at the sword to pull it down with him as he fell to the floor. Bright red blood began to leak around his fingers and onto the floor, and Marvelous felt like his consciousness was detaching completely from his body.
He watched as Basco's body collapsed, as Gai pulled his spear from the privateer's side, dripping green blood. Joe and Gai exchanged words, and then Gai was there with his arm underneath Marvelous' shoulder, picking him up from the floor and pulling him from the room. His legs wouldn't work, though, until Joe had pulled Don into his arms and followed them out into the hallway.
The four of them moved through the ship's corridors, until they came to what had to be the doors to the bridge. The doors were bored completely through by the tip of the GoJyuDrill, and Marvelous dimly realized that the bridge had to have been completely stripped away by the impact. Luka and Ahim were defending the entrance into the drill, and the six of them boarded together.
Gai piloted the drill, now towing the galleon along with them, away from the ship as Marvelous watched from behind the cockpit. It was like the drill hadn't landed at all, the ship looking as complete and intact as it had to have been just an hour ago. Then there was a flash of waving fabric as Furaimaru dropped the illusion, and explosions began to rock the sides of the half-ruined ship as the crew escaped into the Earth's atmosphere.
It was then that Marvelous decided to take a nap.